Sibling Catch-Up

Here is one of several intermittent posts about what my three younger siblings are up to during Voyage 42:

• Kevin (1 year younger): I haven't hung out with him since Christmas. He is busy with his new job, and all the snow has kept him plowing. It drives me nuts that he lives 15 minutes away and I rarely spend time with him and his 3 kids, but what can I do?
• Sarah (3½ years younger): She & Jon are leaving for Mexico on Wednesday night (Blizzard #6 permitting). Jon's sister Jehn, and our parents will be watching their 4 kids for the week following, with sporadic assistance from me.
• Jason (7 years younger): He & Stacie decided recently to put down permanent roots in California, after 5 years of 'temporary' habitation. They want to do what's best for his career and the 3 kids, and while it stinks that he won't be around on a regular basis, I am thrilled that they are doing so well, and will be happy.

I think I will do this at the end of each month in 2011, just to keep a mini-history for myself, and to share with them in later years...

Keeping Track of Snow

Snow storm #5 occurred overnight. We got 5 inches of powdery nuisance. It didn't really cause any problems, just closed a bunch of schools (yet again), and sent me into the sunny outdoors for a few minutes to make a neat path for the mailman and to clean off my car. No biggie. Oh, and Storm #4 was Tuesday, with as little real impact as today's. We New Englanders are a hearty bunch.

Shows I Never Tire Of

There is so much to see on television these days with 900 channels, and too many shows and series of interest to watch. This fall season I even had to make choices between three shows in some times slots, because I wanted to follow them all. Over the course of the fall and winter, I have dropped many series, just because there are not enough hours in the day. However, some shows are just so good, that I never tire of them in repeats, marathons, and DVR pile-ups.

• "Friends" will always be one of my favorite shows. When the series was airing new episodes, the characters were all roughly my age. Throw in the great interdynamics of the group, the beauty of Courteney Cox, the hilarity of Matthew Perry, and even the oft-times annoying Phoebe and Ross, and it's a show that I always have time for. I own seasons 6-8 and 10, and someday I will probably get the other six.
• "Bones" is a show I came to late. When I became unemployed in December of 2008, I had a lot of free time during the day. I'd always been interested in the show, but it conflicted with other favorites, so I never watched it. Thanks to TNT (2 episodes in a row daily) and FOX repeats, I spent the spring of 2009 in a crash-course full of viewings, and immediately fell in love with the characters and storyline. And as annoying as the title character is, the show wouldn't be the same without Emily Deschanel. Plus it's fantastic that David Boreanaz will have a greater legacy than the so-so "Angel". This season I opted to tape "Community" and "Big Bang Theory" during the Thursday 8 pm time slot, and watch "Bones" in reruns, but after the holidays (and several TNT syndicated episodes), I dropped "BBT" and went back to first-runs of "Bones". And lastly, the fates have shone upon me lately, as the horrible "American Idol" is now on at 8 pm on FOX, so I can tape all three ("Bones" has fortuitously been bumped to the 9 pm time slot). The characters definitely make this show special.
• "The Office" is a show that I avoided like a plague when it first came out. "Friends" was gone, and TV Guide and many other media outlets overhyped the hell out of the show, trying to recast 'Jim & Pam' as the new 'Ross & Rachel', and shoving the sometimes funny Steve Carell down my throat. I would have none of this, and never watched the show until the fall of 2009, when I needed a new obsession. Away from all the hype, and free to make my own decisions, I found the show to be extremely funny. TBS had 6-episode marathons every Tuesday, and other channels had 2-episode sets every night, so I got to experience the show from many eras all at the same time. I would see an episode at 7 pm from Season 2 when Pam was with Roy, and Jim was pining for her, and then at 7:30 a Season 3 episode where Pam was alone and Jim was with Karen would air. I always have a fun time learning about the overall storyline through 'fill in the blank' experiences like this. And the Tuesday night marathons were even better, because I got 3 hour chunks to dive in deep. The most jarring (but still pretty cool) times were when I watched the new episodes on NBC, and Jim & Pam were pregnant, and then got married, in between the old episode runs. One last thought: If I had watched the show when it originally aired, I would most likely never made my way back to it. Steve Carell's Michael Scott was such a non-sympathetic misanthrope for the first season (six episodes) and a bit beyond that I couldn't bear the sight of him or his not very funny antics. Thankfully there was an attempt to soften this abrasiveness, and he became much more likable going forward. To this day I still watch a couple repeats each day, and I want to own all the seasons sometime when I have the disposable income.
• "Mad Men" is the most recent of my television must-sees. I'd heard over the last few years about how great the show was, and it seemed interesting, but for some reason I'd always assumed that AMC wasn't part of basic cable. Silly me! So I watched all of Season 3 'on demand' at the end of the summer, and got hooked. The atmosphere, the rich characters, the style, the history interwoven into the background - it all combined into an amazing escape backward, into the time just before I was born. I watched Season 4 unfold, and in between I bought the first 2 seasons on DVD, then devoured them in three- and four-episode doses. What a fantastic show. Ma got me Season 4 for Christmas, but it won't be released until March. I will gladly watch all four seasons, beginning to end, when it arrives on my doorstep...

There aren't very many shows other than these where I happily record reruns, though lately "Modern Family", "Cougar Town" and "Rules of Engagement" rank right up there. Only time will tell.

Sub-Arctic Chill

I woke up at 6 am this morning to the portable space heater humming along. The only issue: it's set to go on if the temperature goes below 60 F. I got out of bed to feed the cat, and sure enough, the gas heat had gone dead. ZOINKS!! It's -6 F outside, and I have no gas heat. Oh well, I dealt with it, made coffee, and watched "The Office" and the news (some poor 50 year-old woman froze to death overnight after a fall in her driveway). Then at 7 am the power went out - noooooo! It was time to bundle up and read in the sunlight coming in through the stove window. Thankfully Jean Marie (my aunt/landlady) called with heater instructions, so I was able to get that back up at 7:30, and then the electricity came back on at 8. Life is back to normal! I wasn't worried for myself, I could always escape to my parents' house. I would just hate to leave Sabrino behind to fend for himself in a cold dark apartment. He's such a good cat!

Blizzard Number 3

We got 6 inches of powdery snow overnight. That makes three storms in ten days (the 11th, the 18th, and very early today). Because woke up feeling nearly 100% healthy again (no more headache! No queasy stomach!), I got up at eight, showered right away, ate breakfast, and went out to shovel after awhile. It felt good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine, and the shoveling was effortless. Over the course of the day I ate normally, cleaned the litter box, took out the trash, did nearly all of the possible laundry in the house (clothes, blankets, towels, sheets, etc...) in three loads, did dishes, cleaned the stove top, and cooked.

I also talked to Sarah & the kids on the phone, read Rolling Stone, and wrote up a big blog post/survey/contest about music on Not Lame Minus. Hopefully it will generate some interest.

Positive notes from the illness and blizzard combo: I ate very healthy every day for the last week. It was mostly fruit & veggies, water, small amounts of meat, nuts, cereal and a lot less coffee than I usually consume (less than 2 cups a day until today). Also, I went to bed at a decent hour (in bed by midnight every night, sometimes hours earlier), and got up early (8 am) almost every day. Plus I read more (3 whole books), and sat on my ass in front of this screen or the tv screen a lot less as a result. Not to mention the fact that I signed most of the acts to (and designed a new website for) this year's Music Fest. Now if only I could find a job...

Illness Update

As previously noted, I got really sick on Sunday. Here is an update/summary of the days since:

• Monday - I ate little, slept off & on, and read "Nor Crystal Tears" cover to cover before falling asleep before 10 pm.
• Tuesday - We got 8 inches of snow overnight, and then it turned to freezing rain. I didn't have any energy to shovel, so I didn't. Jean Marie brought me aspirin which helped me by leaps and bounds. The mailman dropped off "Surfer" and "National Geographic", but my brain was still too sore for any combination of both words and pictures. I had bacon sandwiches for supper just to get some meat into my stomach. More reading and sleeping. I vegged in front of the tv until midnight though, but fell asleep almost instantly thereafter.
• Today - After spending all night getting up to go to the bathroom every two or three hours, I finally got out of bed at nine. I read most of the day; went outside to shovel out my stoop and my car; managed to eat a small steak with fresh mushrooms and broccoli; and Ma made my week when she came by around 3 pm to drop off regular aspirin, cranberry juice, ginger ale, pretzels, tangerines, and a few other things to speed my recovery. Moms are the best.

My headache is nearly gone. The frequent urination is driving me nuts. And for some reason, my intake of coffee has dwindled fourfold to two normal-sized cups per day. I bet I've lost several pounds!

Coincidence?

Yesterday evening, sometime during the Patriots' inexplicable loss to the Jets, my head began to pound. Since I haven't really been around too many humans this week (and no close contact), I can only think of one cause: the scallops.

My head hurt so much that I wound up going to bed just after ten pm, which is unheard of unless I have to get up super early for a vacation departure. I tried to read for a bit, but gave it up as futile, and fell asleep. I had so many bizarre dreams! I was writing a book from 3 different points of view, and each dream snippet was one of the characters taking his/her turn. I wish I'd been able to transmit it to paper, because I just remember waking up and rolling over a lot, and each time I did, a new chapter began.

I was hot all night, but my skin was cool. My head kept pounding anytime my consciousness arose from sleep. And I felt miserable, all while my brain was writing that damned book. I woke up at 8 when my alarm went off, I had cereal and orange juice, and the thought of the tv made my head hurt even more, so I went to my bed to read in silence. I wound up falling asleep again, and it was more of the same, though the story was too far down in my consciousness, and wasn't as vibrant. I got up at 12:30, did the dishes (the house was still pretty rank with the odor of bad fish), made coffee, and things are slowly getting back to normal, though I still have a pretty steady (if not as severe) throbbing going on. Hopefully it works its way out of my system by tomorrow morning, because this really sucks.

Gift Card Bonanza 4

I just used the $25 Target gift card my brother Jason and his family gave me for Christmas. I kept meaning to go to the nearest local store, but it's out of the way, so I finally caved and used it online.

I wound up getting: a pair of short sleeve t-shirts from Mossimo Black in 'French Roast' (I absolutely hate it when foods are used to describe colors!) and 'Military Blue'; and a long sleeve t-shirt from Merona in teal heather, whatever that means. I paid $8.99 for 3-5 days shipping, but the Mossimo Black items are on back-order, which means I won't get them 'til the beginning of February. How does that happen? Oh well, I needed a few new shirts, and it'll be a nice surprise when they finally arrive in the mail...

Snowmageddon: 8 AM

Here are a pair of pictures taken out my windows around 8 am this morning. The stairs go nowhere (there used to be a way to get to the upstairs deck, but no longer). The birds sure seem unphased!

The man who plows our driveway just left a little while ago, and I am free to go shovel out my car at my leisure. 

Snowmageddon: Preview

According to every news and weather station on television, we are supposed to get hit with 12"-18" of snow overnight tonight. My refrigerator is full, I just ran across the street for Oreos and Pop Tarts (I rarely keep junk food on-hand), I moved my car into a prime spot so the plow can be as efficient as possible, and I brought my scraper and snow brush indoors so they won't be sealed inside of my car (and thus useless). Bring it on!

Festival Producer Working

I spent a big chunk of today working on the website for, and inviting musicians to the 2nd Annual Wyman's Pond Music Fest.

Almanac Mountain confirmed this morning, and after writing e-mails to Dave from The Rafters, Vanessa Kafka and Abbie Barrett, I received enthusiastic "aye!"s from Dave around lunch time, and from Abbie in the early evening. Two days in and I already have four out of six (or seven) acts scheduled!

I also figured out how to use tabs on a blog, so the musician FAQ (and any other upcoming section) has its own page. I have so many ideas to make this year better than last year: I am 95% certain I am going to have custom guitar picks made (instead of last year's wooden nickels) for the admittance tokens. I want to have an art contest for the event poster (of which I will do a small print run and raffle off), and t-shirts will be made way in advance.

WPMF 2

I just finished launching the website for the 2nd Annual Wyman's Pond Music Fest. I wanted to keep it separate from the first one for simplicity's sake. As I posted elsewhere, Elizabeth Lorrey is returning this year, and in addition I sent Christoper Cote (Almanac Mountain) an invitation to repeat as well. I am so psyched!

10 Dollar Day: Elizabeth Lorrey - Cafe Verde

For my first "10 Dollar Day" I went to see Elizabeth Lorrey's first show of 2011 in Lawrence, MA last night at the new Cafe Verde. Erik was sitting at a prime table when I arrived at 7:30, and after I greeted and received a big hug from Elizabeth, Brian & Nikki came piling in with their friend Caitlin. After we all got settled I went over to talk to Elizabeth for a bit, and after letting me know what was up for the evening (album cuts and covers, plus several new songs!), I asked if she was interested in a repeat gig this summer at Wyman's Pond Music Fest 2. She was enthusiastic, signed on, gave me a couple of names for 'new blood', and even offered the use of her sound system.

She went on at 9 pm, and over the course of the next two hours (with a short break around ten) she played all of the songs off her first album ("Frozen" and "She" were the best), several new songs (I really like "Invisible"), and a ton of covers. Caitlin (who is very cool) and Nikki both knew nearly all the words to every cover song Elizabeth performed - it was nutty! A list of the covers can be found in my music blog post, but standouts were The Pretenders "Back on the Chain Gang", Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine", and an amazing rendition of 'Til Tuesday's "Welcome Home". What a talented and versatile performer. I can't wait for her new EP in late March-early April.

It was great to be out & about with the guys again. Brian, Erik & I each had two beers each, Nikki had 3 mixed drinks, and Caitlin had 3 glasses of wine. The conversation flowed, the food was good (apparently - I wasn't hungry), and the music was consistently engaging. I enjoyed the rides there and back too, even with getting a bit lost on the way once I was in Lawrence. The downtown is pretty cool, and Cafe Verde is a great place to hang out with friends.

"10DD" Tally: My pair of Harpoon UFOs were $4.67 each, so tonight's festivities cost me $9.34 - success! Next up (hopefully): Abbie Barrett at TOAD next Saturday...

More Firsts

Here are some more "firsts" for 2011:

• First Beer: I had a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA with lunch yesterday. I had it with 2 scrambled eggs, fresh broccoli, and 2 boneless pork chops seasoned with garlic and black pepper. This beer never disappoints.
• First Movie: "Black Swan" starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey. See today's previous post.

Film - Black Swan

I saw the 11:45 am showing of "Black Swan" today. I'd seen reviews for it earlier this fall in "Wired" and "Rolling Stone" magazines, and watched Natalie Portman talk about it on "Letterman", and I was hoping to go into Boston to see it during it's initial limited release. However, my lack of funds ($7 to park at Alewife, etc...) made it financially unwise. So I waited until after the holidays (and school vacations) for the general release. What a great film.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as it had been weeks since I'd read anything about it, but it was a pretty gripping tale. I always enjoy stories that take place in New York City, because it's such a big place, that many films could be 'taking place' at the same time, and the characters would never run into one another. Subways always make me think along those lines, with so many people passing through the tunnels and trains at any given moment, that there is probably an interesting story for each one; yet it is impossible to experience but the tiniest fraction of them.

Anyway, without spoiling anything, It is a tense mix of strong personalities that drives this dark tale. Natalie Portman is amazing in her dual roles of White Swan and Black Swan. At times she is as fragile as a porcelain doll, and at others she shows flashes of steel that demonstrate her growth and maturation underneath the oppressive gaze of a mother (played convincingly by Barbara Hershey) who gave up a similar dream to nurture her daughter's. Mila Kunis embodies the fresh & exuberant face of the hungry ingenue nipping at the heels of the established Portman. Throw in the driven company leader played by Vincent Cassel, who strives to bring out the passion he can sense within Portman, in order to get her to bring her best to the role of the Black Swan. I am pleased that the ending was not given away in the media, for it was unexpected until the last few minutes. For such a gripping story, it was $5.75 well-spent, no question about it.

Gift Card Bonanza 3

I went to JC Penney this evening (after the Patriots destroyed the Dolphins) to use my $25 gift card on much-needed winter gear. I misplaced all of my winter hats (I had at least two) in my move back in June, so I needed one (I got a nice grey one from St. John's Bay), but I couldn't find a reasonably masculine scarf. So I snagged a new wallet instead. The one I'd been using for the last few years was a black leather one that had a missing Patriots logo pewter inset, so it was pretty shabby from day one. I got a brown leather trifold from Docker's. It's license window is in the center, with 3 card slots on either side, and it smells great (haha). I discovered upon transferring all of my stuff from old to new that a few things were either out of date or not needed. There's nothing like a shiny new wallet and throwing out old crap to begin the year right. Plus, it was nice to get out of the house. Thanks again, Sarah & Jon & kids!

V42 Day

A "V42 Day" is a day when I do at least three of the following: Exercise (work out, hike, bicycle, etc...), Write, Draw (any visual art), practice my Guitar, or Cook something elaborate and/or unusual.

Today was a V42 Day (WDE). I wrote several posts in the morning, drew off & on all day, and worked out (curling bar, push-ups, etc...) in the evening. Sweet!

Molly Ringwald and Nostalgia

I think the TV Gods gathered this fall to conspire to put all of Molly Ringwald's films on their schedules this holiday season. Over the last week or so I have watched "The Pick-Up Artist", "Betsy's Wedding", "Sixteen Candles" and today, "Pretty in Pink". The only ones that were missing were "The Breakfast Club" and "Fresh Horses", but I couldn't find either anywhere.

The thing I like most about watching old movies (and how odd is it that the 80's are considered 'old' now?) is remembering how the film made me feel the first time I saw it, and comparing that to how it makes me feel now. When "The Pick-Up Artist" came out in 1987 I was pretty naive guy. I was horrified that Molly's and Robert Downey Jr.'s characters (complete strangers Randy Jensen and Jack Jericho) would hook up for casual sex in his car. It's still not something I personally would do today, but I have no problem with two consenting adults making that choice. It was quite funny to remember a time when I was so innocent.

The only things I took away from "Betsy's Wedding" were a) that she was wasted in the role, and b) the reminder of how much I despised Alan Alda's work for much of his career. His delivery and humor were SO not my style, mostly a bargain basement version of Woody Allen (whose appeal I never understood, and whose films I still can't sit through if his character has too prominent a role), and the main reason I never enjoyed M*A*S*H as much as most people in it's prime-time heyday. On a side note, I do always enjoy Mr. Alda when I catch him as the host of Scientific American Frontiers, so it's been the acting choices for his characters, and not the man himself.

I think I enjoy Molly best as Sam in "Sixteen Candles". She shows true compassion for Farmer Ted when lending him her underwear to enhance his social status; and as disappointed as she is when her family forgets her birthday (showing a ridiculous amount of restraint of which most 16 year olds would never compare), she doesn't let it affect her older sister's wedding preparations. It's easy to root for her, and many of the characters (including, surprisingly, Jake's girlfriend Carolyn) in the film are relatable, if a bit one-dimensional at times.

Finally, in perhaps the most 'eighties' of the films, "Pretty in Pink" (focusing heavily on fashion {appearance} and money as social indicators of success and worthiness), Molly's character Andie has a chip on her shoulder. She is from a single-parent household, and her father only works sporadically. Add in her offbeat wardrobe choices (making many of her outfits herself from hand-me-downs and thrift store finds), her unusual friends (Duckie, Iona, Simon, et al), and job as a record store clerk, and it makes a hard time for her in the pressure cooker of a Reagan-era high school. Andie's attitude sucks, as she is judging the herd just as much as she feels she is being judged. As a record store employee, someone who is exposed to all kinds of people, cultures and musical styles, she should be a lot more tolerant and adaptable. At times it was hard to be sympathetic. That being said, her mom ran out on her, her dad is a mental case, and Duckie (the idolized nerd in the film) is a lovesick pestilence that has been wearing on her last nerve for years. It's funny, when I was 16 I could relate to him on some levels, but today I found him SO annoying, self-centered and clueless, and with SO little charm, it was hard not to fast-forward through his lines at times. However, he stood up for Andie when Steff was disparaging her; and at the prom he 'let her go', putting her happiness first, and as a result opening doors (Kristy Swanson - yum!) for him elsewhere. On a final note, the music in this film was the best of the bunch. As a result, I have The Psychedelic Furs' "All of This And Nothing" cd playing as I write this.

Thank you for this walk down Memory Lane, Ms. Ringwald! It was quite enjoyable.

2011 - Miscellanea

Here are a few random things from and for the new year:

Firsts:

• Song heard - "Forever" by Chris Brown, followed by "Christmas Song" by Joy Zipper.
• Story read - "Old Oak Trees" by Tony Cliff (from the "Flight" #3 anthology).
• Beverage - water (after brushing my teeth).
• Book - "Dirge" by Alan Dean Foster.

Plans:

• 10 Dollar Day - A day trip or event of note that costs ten dollars or less, not including travel expenses (i.e: gas, parking, tolls, etc...). I would ideally like to have one day every week like this, be it a movie, a museum, seeing a local band, etc...
• Museum Crawl - I bought a year's membership to the Fitchburg Art Museum this past August, and it includes free admission to many other museums across New England. My goal is visit all of them before my membership expires in August. I call it a crawl because museums should be enjoyed slowly and deliberately, and not because it's like the similarly named 'pub crawl', a race from bar to bar (haha).
• Mountain Quest - I began climbing mountains and trying to reach the highest point in several states this past fall (see: "Ken's Climbs @ Peakbagger" on the sidebar), and I aim to continue this indefinitely, when the mood strikes me (I've been antsy for the last few weeks, but I am not sure if I am ready for a snow climb yet), and when it fits in.
• Wyman's Pond Music Fest II - I want to ensure that this is an annual event, and that the coming one tops last year's in every way. On this year's wish list so far is Abbie Barrett, and I hope Vanessa Kafka and Elizabeth Lorrey will return for second go-rounds. FYI: You can find up to date live show dates for these three artists (and other great local musicians) all in one place on my music blog, Not Lame Minus.

2011 - Declarations

Okay, the ball has dropped, and I've spent yet another New Year's Eve home alone. This year I had no money, so going somewhere was out of the question. That being said, my two biggest goals for 2011 are these: a) find a good job in on interesting career path, and b) find a woman to share my free time with. I have been unemployed for far too long, and I've been living inside my own head for even longer. Neither situation is very healthy in the long run. I need to be productive and creatively fulfilled, and I need to put myself in social situations where I have the opportunity to meet an attractive and intelligent woman, one who is my match. Hopefully the result will be a simple equation: a + b = C, where C is a happy Ken (haha). Here's to 2011!